


Chase My Blues Away

by thereforebucket



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-12 04:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11154564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thereforebucket/pseuds/thereforebucket
Summary: Nozomi's an uber driver who picks up a super nervous (and super cute) Eli on her way to a date. Can Nozomi calm her down and get that five-star uber rating?Birthday fic for Nozomi based on the prompt "I'm your uber driver."





	Chase My Blues Away

**Nozomi Toujou:** Hey this is your uber driver. I'm outside in a blue Prius.

 

Nozomi hits send, then locks her phone and sets it firmly back in its stand. She taps her fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of Whitney Houston's 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody.' She savors it. She's about to turn on some indiscriminate jazz, generally a good choice for when the customer gets in the car, but if she were picking the music, she'd pick this.

 

She leans her head back against the seat and grins as the music blasts from the speakers. God, this is a good song. She glances out her passenger window to see if her customer is coming--

 

\--and stops dead, her face coloring.

 

Standing there in a pale blue dress and obviously waiting for someone is the most beautiful woman Nozomi has ever seen. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration. Probably. It's in the realm of possibility. But whether or not this woman is the most beautiful doesn't detract from the fact that Nozomi finds her  _ very attractive. _ She's tall, she's got blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail, and she has bright blue eyes that are  _ looking right at her! _

 

Nozomi quickly looks away, gripping the steering wheel for dear life. God, when will her customer get here? She looks out her window. No one on that side of the street. A nasty thought starts to percolate in her mind and slowly she looks back out the passenger side window to find the blonde coming right for her.

 

Shit.

 

Well, that's fine, she's driven hot women before. She flexes her fingers around the steering wheel nervously. She's just got to turn on that old Nozomi charm.

 

The woman opens the rear passenger door just as Whitney Houston reaches the chorus once again and she looks taken aback as a wall of sound hits her at full force.

 

Nozomi scrambles to turn it down. "Ahh! Sorry!" she says, cranking the sound down to nothing. "Sorry, sorry, I meant to turn that off before you got in, I was just..." she feels her cheeks heat up, "...distracted."

 

"T-that's fine." The woman shakes her head, then gets into the car and pulls the door shut.

 

Nozomi fiddles with the music until her usual jazz playlist is playing through the speakers. When she turns around, the woman has buckled herself in and is looking nervously out her window. Her fingers are fidgeting in her lap and she's got a look on her face like she's about to jump out of her skin. Well, that's no good. Maybe Nozomi can calm her down.

 

She reaches over the seat and holds out her hand. "Sorry about the music," she says, and the woman turns quickly to face her. "I'm Nozomi.

 

"Eli," the woman says, and tentatively takes Nozomi's hand. A sort of business mindset prevails and she gives it a firm shake. Nozomi squeezes her hand in response and then lets go.

 

"Nice to meet you," Nozomi says. "So, where to, Eli?" She flashes her a grin to get her to smile and sees Eli's lips quirk up. Success.

 

"The Blue Danube," Eli says.

 

"Oooh, fancy. You got a hot date?" Eli flashes her a tight smile and Nozomi forces her grin to widen teasingly. Of course she's going on a date, look how she's dressed. And it's not like it matters to Nozomi, anyway, Eli's just another customer. "Well, whoever you're meeting is certainly lucky." She flinches. That was kind of creepy... She coughs to distract from the comment. "Um, so, what kind of music do you want to listen to?" She watches for response in the rear view mirror.

 

Eli blinks once and shrugs, a quick little up and down of the shoulders. "Oh, um, I'm not sure. Something calming, I guess."

 

"Jazz ok?"

 

"Sure."

 

Nozomi turns the music up to fill the space, then pulls away from the curb. She gets about half a block before Eli asks, "Don't you need to put in directions?"

 

Nozomi shakes her head. "I can get to the Blue Danube," she says, catching Eli's eyes in the rear view and smiling.

 

Eli nods tensely. "Oh, ok, that's good."

 

They drive for about two minutes in silence, only the free-flow rhythm of the jazz between them. Nozomi checks on Eli in the rear view mirror at stop signs and red lights and the jazz seems to be doing nothing for Eli's nerves. Well. There are two things Nozomi can do here. One is to mind her own business and drive on, let her customer deal with her anxiety on her own. The other is to try to talk to her, get her to calm down a little.

 

After hemming and hawing for a moment, Nozomi reaches out and turns down her music. She checks in the rear view--it doesn't even register with Eli. "So," she says, "first date?"

 

Eli shakes her head as if to clear it. "Hmm?" she asks.

 

"First date?" Nozomi repeats.

 

"Oh," Eli says, "yes. Yes it is."

 

"How did you meet?" Nozomi asks.

 

"Oh, uh, we, um, haven't." Nozomi catches her eyes in the mirror and raises an eyebrow. "Blind date," Eli supplies. "My friend Rin set us up."

 

"Oooh, that's exciting!" Nozomi says. "Are they cute?"

 

Eli laughs mirthlessly. "I don't know, I just know what she's wearing." Nozomi hears some sort of loud noise and checks the rear view in time to see Eli, hand clapped over her mouth, her face bright red. "I, um, shouldn't have said... It's...okay that I'm meeting a woman, right?"

 

Nozomi bites her lip. A wave of sympathy washes over her for this woman and she reaches for her purse. "Of course it is." She holds up her purse to display the small rainbow pin attached to it. "You're among friends here." Nozomi honestly does the same thing usually--hide that she's gay from her customers, that is. But, it's pride month, and it's almost her birthday. She won't paint her seats with rainbows, but she'll keep a pin on her purse.

 

Eli breathes out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. Sorry, I just don't usually come out to strangers."

 

Nozomi waves her hand. "It's fine, I totally get it," she says. She's glad Eli feels more comfortable now. And, well, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little excited about this turn of events. But no, she's still working and also driving this woman to a date. She takes a deep breath and lets it out quietly. "So, did your friend tell you anything about this woman you're meeting?"

 

"I know her name," Eli says, "Reina."

 

Nozomi whistles. "That's a nice name," she says.

 

"It is," Eli agrees. "Apparently she plays the trumpet in the symphony."

 

Nozomi's eyebrows shoot up. "Damn. She sounds like a catch."

 

She peers into the rear view and sees Eli nod. "I hope so..." she says, trailing off. She's a quiet a moment, and Nozomi waits, feeling like Eli has more to say. "My last girlfriend and I broke up about a year ago. I haven't really dated since then. Hence," she says, "the nervousness."

 

"I think you're going to do great," Nozomi says, without even really thinking. Her cheeks redden and she fights to get them under control. "Look at you!" she says, trying not to sound too...gay about it. "You're tall, you're blonde, you seem pretty cool, there's no way she won't like you!" Well, looks like she failed at not sounding gay. Oh well.

 

She peeks in the rear view and sees Eli blushing a little. Well...looks like she's still got it, Nozomi supposes. She swallows. Hopefully that wasn't too far.

 

"Thank you," Eli says, and the conversation lulls. They're close, only about a block away now, and Nozomi feels...reluctant to end this drive. It's a job, though, and it's going to end eventually.

 

Nozomi pulls up in front of The Blue Danube, puts her car in park, and turns around in her seat to look at Eli. "Hey, you've got this, ok? You're going to crush this date." Eli gives her a small smile and maybe it makes Nozomi's stomach do a backflip but she ignores it.

 

"Thank you," says Eli. "Nozomi, was it?"

 

Nozomi nods. "Yeah, got it in one." She grins.

 

"Well, thank you, Nozomi. And I'm Eli." She holds out her hand again and Nozomi takes it and gives it a shake. Eli smiles and moves to open the door and Nozomi realizes she's forgotten her exit speech.

 

"Oh, hey," she says, and Eli pauses. "So, I do this at all the bars I know do this, but if your date turns out to be a creep, go to the bar and order an Angel Shot, they'll help you out." Eli nods, biting her lip worriedly. "She probably won't be one, but better safe than sorry, right?" Nozomi pushes past the twinge in her gut that feels like she ruined the moment to finish her speech. "Also, if you liked the ride, then be sure to leave a five star review on the app!" She gives Eli a winning smile and hopes it does the job. "You've got this, Eli."

 

"Thanks," she says. She holds Nozomi's gaze for a second, then gets out of the car.

 

Nozomi makes sure she gets inside alright, then leans her head back against the headrest and lets out a long, slow breath. Ok. Time for another one.

 

* * *

 

"Nozomi Toujou did you _ flirt  _ with a customer on her way to a  _ date? " _

 

It's a slow night as far as nights go, so Nozomi finds herself calling Nico. And, of course, Eli comes up in their conversation.

 

Nozomi grins embarassedly, though Nico, on the other end of the line, can't see it. "I didn't really flirt with her, I just told her she was going to do great."

 

"Yeah, she was going to do great because she was hot." Nico snorts. "Why can you do this with your customer but not when we go out to a bar? Flirt with someone, Nozomi. Get a date."

 

Nozomi sighs, trying to think up a funny retort. She's saved from answering, however, by a notification on her app: a customer, right on the edge of her driving range, wanting to be picked up. Nozomi checks the location, then does a double take. The Blue Danube and...and there's her name: Eli.

 

"Nicocchi you won't believe what just happened," she says, tapping the icon quickly to respond to it.

 

"What?"

 

"That girl? Needs to be picked up."

 

There's silence on the other end, then Nico shouts her answer into the phone. "Then what are you doing? Pick her up!"

 

"I thought you thought you were against this girl," Nozomi teases, pulling away from the curb.

 

"No," Nico says exasperatedly, "I said you should flirt in bars, not in your car, but if this girl likes it? Flirt. With. Her."

 

Nozomi frowns. "We don't know how her date went," she says.

 

"Well, if it went well, good for her. If it went poorly, good for you," Nico says matter-of-factly.

 

"Nicocchi, I'm not going to hope a stranger's date went bad just because I think she's cute."

 

"Well I will," Nico says. "Did you respond? Are you on the way there?"

 

"Yeah, I'm driving," Nozomi says, rolling her eyes.

 

"Good," Nico says. "I'm going to hang up now so you can think of a really good opening line."

 

"No! Nicocchi!"

 

"I'll talk to you later!" Nico all but sings into the phone. "Call me when you're done dropping her off!" She hangs up and Nozomi growls at the empty air.

 

Something is worrying her about this situation besides the fact that she's nervous about seeing Eli again. It's only been an hour and a half since she dropped her off. This isn't...the Angel Shot, right?

 

Nozomi's thumbs beat out a nervous rhythm on the steering wheel. It's going to be fine, she tells herself. An hour and a half is plenty of time for dinner. Maybe Reina just wasn't that good at conversation. Nozomi tries to squash that thought as soon as she has it because she will  _ not _ get her hopes up like Nico did.

 

She stops at a stop light and scrolls through her Spotify until she finds some lighthearted playlist. Carly Rae Jepsen blasts from her speakers and Nozomi pushes herself deep into the seat, forcing herself to calm down. It's all fine. Eli had a good, but short, date and Nozomi's taking her home. That's all.

 

She gets to The Blue Danube five minutes later and this time has the decency to switch the music before sending her arrival text.

 

**Nozomi Toujou:** Hey this is your uber driver. I'm outside in a blue Prius.

 

She trains her eyes on the door of the restaurant and watches as Eli emerges. Her eyes look downcast and there's a slump to her shoulders that makes Nozomi's heart sink. Still, she walks briskly to the car and when she opens the door she gives Nozomi this sad little smile.

 

"Hey," says Eli. "We meet again."

 

"So we do," Nozomi agrees, smiling softly. "Where to?"

 

Eli gives her her address as she buckles in and Nozomi puts it into her phone's GPS. The mechanical voice spits out the first direction and Nozomi pulls away from the curb.

 

"So," she says, "how was the date?" She keeps her voice tentative, no teasing. She saw Eli's face before.

 

From the backseat, Eli sighs. "Well," she says, "she didn't show."

 

"What?!" Nozomi says. "No!"

 

"Yeah!" Eli says, angry now. "I waited for an hour and a half and she never showed!"

 

"That's awful!" Nozomi says. She's actually really angry about this. Who the hell says yes to a date and never shows? "Do you have her number? Can you text her?"

 

"No," Eli says sadly. "Rin set it all up."

 

"Well, at least you can get in touch with her that way," Nozomi says.

 

"That's true." Eli's quiet for a minute and then says, "I just told Rin that Reina didn't show." She holds up her phone and Nozomi catches the light from it in the rear view.

 

"Hopefully Rin will talk to her," Nozomi says, and Eli hums in agreement. "Did you at least get to eat?" Nozomi asks. "The food at The Blue Danube is really good."

 

"I did actually," Eli says, perking up a little. "I got ratatouille."

 

"That sounds good," Nozomi says. "I've only been there once. Nicocchi got a big bonus at work and invited me out." She grins, remembering the night. They had felt fancy beyond belief, decked out in nice clothes in a restaurant on the edge of 'nice.' "I got steak," she says.

 

"Nicocchi?" Eli asks.

 

"My best friend Nico. She's...ridiculous." Nozomi chuckles.

 

"Oh." Eli laughs. "She sounds like a fun person."

 

"She is," Nozomi says. She drums her fingers on the wheel. "Hey, what kind of music do you want to listen to?"

 

Eli thinks for a moment. "Something fun," she says finally.

 

Nozomi grins. "I've got a good playlist for that." At the next stoplight, she opens Spotify and finds the playlist she was listening to earlier. She picks up where she left off with the next full song which is, coincidentally... Nozomi groans and laughs at the same time.

 

"What?" Eli asks.

 

Nozomi hits play and Whitney Houston's 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' starts up. She turns it down and says, "I forgot to turn this song off when you got in the car the first time."

 

"Oh! Yeah!" Eli says. "I remember now!" She chuckles. "I was so out of it earlier."

 

"It's ok," Nozomi says, "we all get nervous before dates." The song reaches the first verse and Nozomi turns around dramatically to sing it. _"_ _ Clock strikes upon the hour and the sun begins to fade. _ _"_ Eli laughs and Nozomi is encouraged to go on. _"_ _ Still enough time to figure out how to chase my blues away! _ _"_ She turns around again because she's driving a car and the light could turn green at any second. _"_ _ I've done alright up till now, it's the light of day that shows me how. And when the night falls, my loneliness calls! " _

 

Eli surprises her by joining her in the chorus and as the light turns green, the two of them drive off singing, _"_ _ I wanna dance with somebody! I wanna feel the heat with somebody! I wanna dance with somebody! With somebody who loves me! " _

 

The two of them sing the rest of the song, Nozomi singing the verses and Eli joining her on the chorus, and when the song ends, they catch each other's eyes in the mirror and laugh.

 

"Thank you, Nozomi," Eli says. "I was feeling pretty down earlier and you just cheered me up."

 

"Happy to help," Nozomi says. "I'm sorry you got stood up."

 

Eli snorts. "Yeah me too." She takes a deep breath and exhales quickly. "Next time for sure."

 

"Yeah, for sure," Nozomi agrees.

 

They're close to Eli's stop now and again Nozomi feels the reluctance to end the drive. But, all good things must come to an end. The mechanical voice of her GPS tells her which way to go and Nozomi pulls up to the curb as it says, "Arrived." Nozomi puts her car in park and turns around.

 

"Well, Eli, it was nice to meet you," she says, sticking out her hand. "I hope you get this all sorted out with your friend."

 

Eli takes her hand and shakes it gently. "It was nice meeting you too," she says, "and I'm sure I will."

 

Nozomi smiles at her. "Good." She pulls her hand back. "Well, you know the drill. If you liked the ride, don't forget to rate me five stars on the app, and have a good night."

 

Eli nods, then hesitates. "I--" she says, then stops and starts rummaging in her purse.

 

"Oh," says Nozomi, "we can't take tips."

 

"Oh, no, it's not," Eli says. "I know the-- But I would if--" she shakes her head and pulls out and old receipt and a pen. "This is probably super inappropriate," she says, scrawling something onto the back of it, "but you were so nice and cool and, well, cute." She blushes, and before Nozomi is fully cognizant of what's happening, Eli thrusts the receipt into her hand and unbuckles her seatbelt. "Thank you, Nozomi. Have a good night."

 

She opens the door and leaves and Nozomi is stuck sitting there with a piece of paper in her hand, mouth agape. Had she just called her cute? Slowly, Nozomi looks down at the words scrawled on the paper.

 

 _ Eli Ayase _ and a phone number.

 

Oh my god.

 

Nozomi feels a grins start to creep across her face and she looks up at Eli's building in time to see Eli smile at her before slipping inside. This girl just gave her her number and called her cute. Nozomi laughs. Wow.

 

Quickly, she pulls her phone from the dock, opens a new contact, programs Eli's name and number in, and shoots her a quick text.

 

**Nozomi Toujou:** Hey, this is Nozomi Toujou, your uber driver.

 

She hits send, thinks a moment, and tacks something on in its own message.

 

**Nozomi Toujou:** :)

 

Then, she calls Nico, puts her phone back in the dock, and pulls away from the curb.

 

"Hello?" Nico says, picking up.

 

"Nicocchi," says Nozomi. "You won't believe what just happened."

**Author's Note:**

> (Reina is Reina Kousaka from Hibike! Euphonium. I figure that Rin, Hazuki, and Midori know each other and that's how she knows Reina. I also figure that she probably just got caught up in some symphony thing that night and forgot all about the date with Eli.)
> 
> Happy Birthday to Nozomi! May you have many good years to come (and may I write more small birthday fics as well)!


End file.
